ACTRESS Amy Nuttall is hoping the British weather will be kind to her for the next few weeks.

The 31-year-old, who grew up in Lostock, is set to take to the outdoor stage for the first time to appear in a 20th century classic by legendary playwright Arthur Miller.

It is being staged at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London, and the former Markland Hill Primary School pupil has been finding out what to expect from friend Clare Foster, who recently appeared at Bolton’s Octagon.

Amy said: “It’s great because Clare was here two years ago doing Crazy for You and I’ve been getting lots of advice from her which has been really helpful.”

From Thursday until Saturday, June 7, Amy will be starring as Ann Deever in All My Sons at the outdoor theatre, while helicopters and aeroplanes fly overhead, birds walk across the stage and audience members watch on in broad daylight.

Amy said: “There will be no such things as lights down.

“It’s a whole new experience. I’ve never done anything outside.

“And I’m a bit worried about the cold, I really feel the cold and I’ll be sat in the garden in summer dresses.”

But the actress, whose passion for performing spans back to her childhood, is looking forward to the challenge after gracing many indoor stages, including the Octagon.

Due to rehearsals and other commitments, Amy was unable to make the trip up to Bolton to see pal Clare performing in Duet for One and Separation — two Tom Kempinski plays which were performed in repertoire until last Saturday.

Amy said: “I wanted to get up and see her but it’s been awkward timing.

“I’ve heard amazing things. All my family have been.

“I have nothing but the best memories of working in Bolton.

“It’s just an amazing place to work and David Thacker is one of the best directors I’ve ever worked with.

“I would love to go back if it was the right thing and I was available and they wanted me.”

The pair appeared at the Octagon together in 2010, playing sisters in Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, but now Amy’s focus is another American classic, a moving story of denial, guilt and social responsibility.

She said: “I’ve always been a big fan of Arthur Miller, and Tennessee Williams too.

“I’ve never done an Arthur Miller play before, I’ve always wanted to so it’s ticking one off my to do list.

“This is All My Sons. It’s an American classic, set after the Second World War in a midwestern background.

“I play Ann Deever. I’m the girl next door who grew up with the Keller family.”

While Amy has been busy preparing and rehearsing for All My Sons, her husband Andrew Buchan has been filming ITV four part series The Great Fire.

The 35-year-old actor, who also grew up in Lostock and attended Rivington and Blackrod High School, will play humble baker Thomas Farriner in the programme which is using pyrotechnics and special effects, as opposed to CGI, to create the fire sequences as London burns in 1666.

Amy said: “We are going to be like ships passing in the night while he’s filming nights.

“I think it’s the most physically exhausting role he has ever done.

“He is running around, there’s fire and smoke and soot.

“I’m looking forward to it. He never tells me too much which is good in a way because I’m just watching it like everyone else.”

After Markland Hill, Amy attended Clevelands School before Bury Grammar and asked parents Andrew and Elaine to allow her to go to Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in Hertfordshire, at the age of 14.

She said: “I begged and begged and pleaded with my parents to go because I had heard about this school.

“I thought it would be my dream school.

“My dad was so against it, he was always quite against boarding schools.

“Because I was relentless, he said right, ok then, if you get a scholarship, only then will you be able to do this.”

A young Amy packed her bags and moved almost 200 miles away to the school, where she cried down the phone every night for six months.

She said: “I was so homesick when I started. I didn’t think about that.

“It was not good.”

Arrangements were made for her to go back to Bury Grammar but she had settled into the school so stayed put, marking the beginning of her successful acting career.

She said: “I didn’t cry anymore.

“It all worked out.”

And looking to the future, what roles would the actress like to tackle both on and off stage, indoor and out?

She said: “Just to do anything that’s challenging, anything that is good writing and good directing and working with good people.

“It helps you raise your bar and your game.”